Chief guest Shri Pradeep Tamta, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, speaking at the official function to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama. (Photo courtesy: Tibet.Net)

(TibetanReview.net, Dec11, 2018) – The Tibetan Administration in exile at Dharamsala, India, marked the 29th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Tsuglakhang courtyard on Dec 10. The chief guest was Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Tamta of the Indian parliament while Mr Andrea Papus Ngombet Malewa, President of Global Coordinator Collective Sassoufit Congolese Human Rights Group, was special guest.

“In today’s world marred by violence, religious conflicts and strife, His Holiness the Great the Dalai Lama’s message of peace and non-violence holds the key to solving the critical global issues,” the chief guest was quoted as telling the gathering in his address.

He has also lauded Tibetan Buddhism as being very much in harmony with the Gandhian principle of nonviolence.

Offering sympathies and solidarity with the Tibetan people, special guest Malewa has said: “Even in the darkest hour in your history, the moral strength you draw from your ancient culture has kept alive your hunger for peace. You, Tibetans more than anyone know that the oppressor is the real victim of the oppression. Chinese people too are victims of the totalitarian regime.”

And he has said, “We come here in Dharamsala not because we share a common enemy but because we share a common hope; a hope for peace.”

President Lobsang Sangay delivered the Kashag’s speech for the occasion, as did Speak Pema Jungney for the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.

Others who spoke were stated to include Mr Ajay Singh Mangotia, President of Indo-Tibet Friendship Association (ITFA), and Mr Ram Swaroop, the association’s advisor.

As in past years, an International Himalayan Festival was held to mark the occasion, jointly organized by the ITFA and the Tibetan Settlement Office.